Gun Safe in Garage

[kbm6893]

My rifles are kept in a Stack On Safe in a closet in my house. It used to be my office but became my daughters room. She’s getting old enough that she needs the space. No other room for a safe other than in my attached to house garage.

I know Stack On sucks and I’m not looking to move that into my garage, a room with plenty of tools. So I’m thinking either Fort Knoxx or Liberty. How easy is it to break into those safes in a room full of pry bars and power tools? I’m not loving the idea of it being exposed but I guess I could pay someone to make a closet in the garage.

None of these choices are optimal, but I gotta work with what I got. Ideas are welcome.

 

[Tubbsy]

Given the right tools and enough time a would be thief can get into just about anything.... i wouldn't reccomend leaving something as tempting as a gun safe in your easily accessible garage....

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Camouflage is your friend! Make it look like a freezer or a chest of drawers, just don't let outsiders see a gun safe!

Ivan

 

[moosedog]

I've got several Liberty safes and can't say enough good things about the.

Some things to consider in putting your safe in the garage

If it has a key, the key should be in the house hidden.

Build a fake wall or like you said, closet so it can't be seen when the big door is opened.

A surveillance set up that hooks to your phone would be pretty inexpensive now a days.

Also a power kill switch for your over head door that is switched in the house.

Although it's not an ideal situation your going into it with good forethought.

 

[federali]

Disguise

Ivan the Butcher has the right idea. My safe is disguised to look like a repurposed kitchen cabinet which I made from a wide screen TV box. From the street, strangers see an old cabinet. I even drew in a false seam between doors and added pull knobs.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Contact forum member Kanewpadle. He is the Sultan of Safes.

 

[df06]

Details are important. Look at the specs on the safes. Thickness of metal, thickness of door, number of looking bolts, etc. various brands of safes make different quality of safes. I have more than one American Security safes. They have 1/2” thick steel plate doors and very heavy gauge walls. They seem to be pretty good safes.
But as others have said, in time, they can be broken in to.

 

[Chief Wiggums]

Pursuant to the off the showroom floor , Liberty , Sentry , whatever.... There isnt one that cant be compromised.

No safe is safe.....

In the OP situation......concealment.....

Make it a substantial PITA to get to , to open it...
If I "had" to put one in the garage , I would stack all kinds of heavy items in front of it , make it very difficult to get access to it. Most bad guys wouldnt want to go thru the hassle and spend valuable time moving a bunch of heavy "stuff" to get to something that looks like a storage cabinet for garage junk..

 

[jughed440]

I did the interior of my pole barn/garage to include a cubby hole just for a 2nd safe. The access point will be a sliding wall with shelves. My main worries are humidity... temperature change.. etc.
The area has pex tubing in the concrete for a heated floor, but the system is not up and running yet. I'll just put a heating unit and a dehumidifier of some sort inside the cubby hole for now. I made sure to include an outlet within the same area.
A security camera with motion detector is already installed.

 

[CB3]

A safe that is absolutely unmovable (bolted to everything in a corner) is much harder to break into than one that can be tipped over, smashed and deformed then door pried open. Also, the sign, “BLACK POWDER INSIDE” may discourage a torch. Definitely alarm the area with one loud enough for neighbors to hear as well as notify you by phone—with surveillance cameras.

 

[Univibe]

In the garage, the humidity will get to your weapons and rust them.

 

[27 Man]

Buddy of mine lived in a Houston condo years ago. It was a split level style with the garage in the lower level. His gun safe was in the garage as was his golf bag. Gun safe was not bolted to the floor. Thieves took golf balls out of the bag, tilted the safe back, put the golf balls under the safe and just rolled it out.

 

[LVSteve]

In the garage, the humidity will get to your weapons and rust them.

Another reason to live in Vegas.

 

[Dougaz]

Is your safe fire resistant or fire proof? There's a big difference. I don't like any safe that utilizes a key and I sure as hell don't recommend any electronic key pads. Their bad news as well. Bolt the **** out of it but make sure you don't have any P.T. slabs in your garage (You probably don't but I do) because you don't want to bolt to those. Avoid conditions where the crooks can get a chain/cable around it and by the way, bolting a safe to a gypsum wall is NOT recommended.

I love the others comments about cammo and hiding it in plain site.

Good luck

 

[LVSteve]

I love the others comments about cammo and hiding it in plain site.

Mine's not in plain sight, it's hidden behind a slew of junk.

 

[tlawler]

In the garage, the humidity will get to your weapons and rust them.

Nah, you just have to keep up on the damp rid and make sure you have a golden rod. I’m in South Florida and keep a container of damp rid on each shelf in addition to the golden rod at the base of the long guns. Humidity normally runs around 40-45%. I change out the damp rid quarterly usually, but every couple of months during the most humid time of year. Now that I’ve got a couple kids off to college, I’m considering moving it into one of the spare rooms. Just took this picture, but safe hadn’t been opened for several hours. One caveat is that you can’t leave the door open for very long. It would be nice to be in A/C and leave the door open and admire them

 

[Babysitr]

I love my Liberty fire proof safes....bolted into concrete floor,access from front only...S&G dial locks....Fire safes only good so long..my friend recently had fire in man shed, out in the boonies, sad outcome!

 

[Bob L]

The easiest point to get into a safe if they can't move it is to cut through the side walls. Most are not that thick and a battery sawzaw (sp) will go through it in no time according to what I have read. So make sure that you do not leave any power equipment around it or at least hide the batteries. Do the best job you can do to block in the sides so they can't get to them. The last is to put a lot of weight in the bottom of the safe to make it so they can't move it. The bottom is a good spot t store the 20K cast bullets you are saying for a rainy day. Last suggesting is to have a decoy where it is one of the cheap safes and store a few junk firearms in it so when the crooks find it, they figure it is all you have. The one time that I was robbed, I had some inexpensive firearms, Stevens Double barrel, an old 870, a older 22 rifle and a newer Model 94. The crooks broke in, found those and did not bother to search anymore for firearms. Good Luck!

 

[Kanewpadle]

I would buy a Liberty.

Gun safes are classified as residential security containers. What people fail to realize is that it is still a safe. Any safe can be breached with the right tools and enough time. I’ve breached many safes using conventional and non conventional methods. I know how long it takes to breach safes. Some are much too easy. Some aren’t.

The point is to make it as difficult as possible. It is up to you to determine just how safe your safe is. Alarm? Dogs? Geographic area? If live close to the fire department, a 75 minute safe is fine.

I recommend having it delivered and bolt it down. The professionals will have it done by the time you dig out your dolly and hand tools.

The garage is a good place but keep in mind that the constant rise and fall of temperature is not good. Keep the temperature constant. Get a dehumidifier and/or use gun socks. I do both.

I have seen several gun safes filled with guns inside houses that burned down. Everyone of the guns in gun socks were unscathed. Others not so much.

In the event of fire, the fire department will hose everything. The fire seal on the safe door will expand when the temperature rises. When it cools it will contract allowing moisture inside the safe. Who knows when they let you access your safe. And if the lock melted off the door you will need a safe man to open it for you. By then your guns will be rusted.

Some states do not charge sales tax on gun safes. Might check that.

 

[xring33]

On a related note.....I never put NRA, S&W or any firearms related window stickers on my car. I think this is just advertising to break into this vehicle or follow me home where there is more.


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